On Friday, September 19, 2020, justice gasped for breath.
I was cooking dinner for my family when I heard the news that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. I stepped away from my stove and just took slow deep breaths. I’m sure you too were taken aback and needed a moment to just—breathe.
Justice Ginsburg was a champion for environmental protections from the earliest days of court cases addressing the problem and keenly aware of the need to use science-based solutions to address global warming. Not once, but twice, she authored majority opinions that said the federal government could regulate greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from automobiles. So much of our work at Moms Clean Air Force can be attributed to her knowledge of justice and protection.
Senators will grapple with how and when a new justice will be appointed, and Moms will be watching, carefully.
But Moms will also not take our focus off a burning question for the candidates: How will you reduce climate pollution for the safety of our children?
Justice Ginsburg had many sayings but one is perfect for this time. “Speak your truth even if your voice trembles.” She once said that youth activists like Greta Thunberg gave her hope. It’s now up to us to take that hope and turn it into action.
We need to speak up loud, and even if our voices tremble a bit, we must not stop speaking until we are heard, until our questions are answered on that debate stage.
We demand justice in every breath — for every person.
We must all be Ruthless without Ruth. She’d expect no less.